SBRC review of Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis records, May 2011

Headquarters

The following tables summarise the results of a review by SBRC of all Yellow-legged Gull records on the Scottish List, from the first seen in Scotland in 1998 to 2009.

This review, first advertised in Scottish Bird News in 2009 (Scottish Birds 29: 231), was initiated to ensure that all records of Yellow-legged Gull on the Scottish List fulfilled identification criteria published by SBRC, both in Scottish Birds (McInerny 2009) and on the SOC website.

In some cases SBRC felt that though records were likely to be Yellow-legged Gulls, they lacked essential identification features (usually detailed description of the wing-tip pattern) now known to be important for the safe identification of this species. To overturn a previous acceptance required a vote of at least 5-2 against, with such records classed as “not proven”.

The review resulted in the acceptance of 25 descriptions, which, when returning birds are taken into account, equate to 17 records of 19 birds. In contrast, 16 records of 17 birds were removed from the Scottish List, including the first six published records. The review thus results in the first accepted record for Scotland being an adult seen at the Ugie Estuary (North-east Scotland) on the 15 August 1998.

Since the initiation of this review, one more record of Yellow-legged Gull has been accepted by SBRC, an individual at Stevenston Point (Ayrshire) on 11-20 August and 11 September 2009. So, as of May 2011, for Yellow-legged Gull, there are 18 records of 20 birds on the Scottish List.

I thank all members of SBRC for their contribution to this review, and Dr Chris Gibbins for his input with one of the records.